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Increasing exports has been the main goal of Portuguese businesses trying to survive the economic crisis that came with the country's 78 (b) billion euro (105 (b) billion US dollar) bailout the debt-heavy country received in 2011. Portugal is best-known for exporting wine and cork, but now there is another sector that is growing - the chestnut industry. According to some experts, the humble sweet chestnut is the "crude oil" of the Transmontana region, an area in the north of the country that is far away from big cities and has few inhabitants. Tras-os-Montes, as the region is known locally, has about 30-thousand of the 35-thousand hectares (74-thousand of the 86-thousand acres) of chestnut trees in the country. In autumn, as the chestnuts drop to the ground, dozens of farmers and other people - some of them from other regions or even other countries - arrive to collect the (m) millions of tonnes of nuts. Lindolfo Afonso is a retired businessman who, years ago, invested in 35 hectares (86 acres) of land where he has been cultivating chestnuts. The trees now help Afonso and his family boost his monthly 369 euro (500 US-dollar) pension and even create seasonal jobs for others. With the price of Portuguese chestnuts rising, many landowners in the region are abandoning the planting of other products in favour of chestnut trees. Maria Fernanda Correia and her husband lost their jobs at a gardening company three years ago. They could not find another job and now that they no longer receive unemployment benefits, the couple make ends meet by harvesting the chestnuts on their land, less than one hectare (2.4 acres). Portugal produces between 40 to 45-thousand tons of chestnuts per year and up to 80 percent of the harvest is sold abroad. Brazil, UK, France, Italy and Spain are the main markets, but export figures are growing for other destinations, including Japan, the US, Russia, China, South Africa and Angola. Sortegel is a company that is part of the national chestnut production network RefCast. Its commercial director says the firm has grown about 20 percent over the last four years - a marked difference from other industries that are struggling to keep afloat in the current economic climate. Sortegel which had an annual turnover of 15 (m) million euros (20.3 (m) million US dollars) last year, exports between 70 to 80 percent of the 10-thousand tons of chestnuts that it processes a year. But the company is struggling to keep up with the demand for Portuguese chestnuts. Exporting fresh and frozen chestnuts is not the only industry experiencing a boom. Because of the crisis, pastry chef Eurico Castro decided to look for new options that could help not only him, but also the regional economy. He created a chestnut paste, using chestnuts grown in the area of Tras-os-Montes, which can be canned easily and sold for use in cooking. In association with a company in Spain, Castro is distributing his product to the European market and is in talks with Japan to introduce the chestnut paste to Asia. He expects to expand production to conquer other markets, like Brazil, the US and Russia. Every autumn, chestnuts make a seasonal return to the streets of the country's capital, with smoke rising from stands selling roasted chestnuts. As locals enjoy the delicacy, the country now hopes the flourishing chestnut industry will help nourish the struggling economy. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/87c7137e87fd7e7a25ff4052bad49623 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork